Uganda-Kenya: Nakivale camp left to fill Kakuma
For some time, several refugees from the Nakivale camp in Uganda have been traveling to Kakuma in Kenya to seek asylum following poor living conditions. More than a thousand refugees have already left since the beginning of November. In the meantime, in Kakuma a new center has just been opened. INFO SOS Médias Burundi
The place of departure is fixed on the bus stop of the Nakivale camp in Uganda, at 4 am. The movement was observed for a month.
“They leave at least 3 times a week, and each time three buses with more than 60 passengers leave. There are approximately more than a thousand people who have gone to Kakuma since last month,” say local community leaders who have already alerted UNHCR and the central administration.
The villages with more departures are Kabanaza A and B, where mainly Burundians and Congolese from the Banyamulenge community live.
“Several houses remained empty, closed,” say witnesses.
The reasons are various
“Some fear for their future, especially Burundians with the repatriation movement undertaken by their government, others are fleeing poor living conditions, famine and rumors of a significant cut in the food ration in 2023 to such an extent that only 20% of refugees will be supported. Then, they hope that in the Kakuma camp in Kenya, they will receive money as assistance”, try to explain local leaders.
UNHCR and the Nakivale camp administration have yet to respond. But at Kakuma camp in Kenya, there are already reports of several new asylum seekers, with the largest number coming from Tanzania in Nyarugusu and Nduta camps.
Overcrowded Kakuma
Kakuma camp in northwest Kenya has been welcoming more people these recent days. Two recently opened reception centers are already overwhelmed.
“Last week UNHCR set up a new reception centre. Every month, the camp receives no less than 200 new asylum seekers. Most of them are Burundians who mainly come from Tanzania and Uganda. And besides, they lament that the living conditions are becoming more and more precarious because the ration quotas do not increase at the same rate as the number of members per household”, assure UNHCR volunteers in Kakuma camp. .
The Nakivale camp has more than 140,000 refugees, including more than 33,000 Burundians, while Kakuma hosts more than 200,000 refugees of several nationalities, including more than 20,000 Burundians.
